Car rental in Kutaisi from $27/day

Car rental in Kutaisi at a glance

1,408 cars are available for pick-up in Kutaisi, from $27 a day. Kutaisi is where most low-cost flights to Georgia land, and a car is the easiest way to reach the caves, canyons and the road to Svaneti.

Local rental companies list 1,408 cars in Kutaisi. For a 7-day rental prices start at $27 a day and a typical car costs about $72.86 a day. 81% of cars can be rented without a deposit and 66% have all-wheel drive. Data updated 26 September 2026. None of the listed cars requires a credit card: the rest of the price is paid at pick-up in cash (100% of cars) or by card (41%).

Renting without a deposit in Kutaisi

1,142 of 1,408 cars can be rented with no deposit at all, starting at $27 a day. Nothing is blocked on your card, which is why many travellers choose these offers. Use the “No deposit” button above the search; for offers with a deposit, the amount is shown on each car before you book.

Why rent a car in Imereti

Kutaisi is Georgia’s third-largest city and the old capital of the Kingdom of Imereti, but its real value for visitors is what surrounds it. Within an hour’s drive you reach karst caves, a spa town of abandoned Soviet sanatoriums, two dramatic canyons and a UNESCO monastery on a hilltop — none of them well connected by public transport. Marshrutka minibuses run to the bigger sights on a limited schedule, and taxis for a full day of sightseeing add up quickly if you book one for each trip. Distances between sights are short by Georgian standards, but the roads twist through hills and villages, so a car turns what would be a series of separate, planned excursions into one flexible loop you can reshuffle on the day.

A rental car also matters because Kutaisi is increasingly a gateway rather than a final stop. Kutaisi International Airport (KUT) is the main hub for low-cost flights into Georgia, so many visitors land here, spend a day or two around the city and the caves, and then continue overland to Svaneti, the Black Sea coast at Batumi, or Tbilisi. Picking up a car in Kutaisi and dropping it off elsewhere avoids doubling back and wastes no time on a return journey you don’t need. Compared to booking a driver or a seat on a group day tour, a self-drive rental is usually cheaper for two or more people and lets you set your own pace at each stop, from a quick photo at a monastery to a lingering swim under a waterfall.

Driving and parking in Kutaisi

Kutaisi is far smaller and calmer to drive in than Tbilisi or Batumi. Traffic is light outside the morning and late-afternoon peaks, and the centre is compact — the Bagrati Cathedral hill, the White Bridge over the Rioni river and the theatre square are all within walking distance of each other, so you do not need the car for sightseeing inside the city itself. Streets around the central market and the old town have some narrow, one-way sections, and cobbled lanes near the cathedral are best left on foot.

Parking in the centre is generally easier and cheaper to find than in the capital; many guesthouses and hotels have their own yard or can point you to a free street spot nearby. Paid parking zones and meters exist on the busiest central streets, marked with signs — look for them before leaving the car, since enforcement is stricter than the relaxed pace of the city might suggest. If you are only using the car for day trips and not for getting around town, ask the supplier about leaving it parked at your accommodation between excursions rather than paying for a hotel with no parking. Fuel stations are easy to find along the main roads into and out of the city, and most take cards, so there is no need to plan refuelling stops carefully inside town.

Day trips from Kutaisi

Imereti and neighbouring Samegrelo pack an unusual number of sights into a small area, so most of the list below can be combined two or three at a time. A relaxed morning covers Gelati, Motsameta and a walk up to Bagrati; an afternoon loop takes in Prometheus Cave, Sataplia and Tskaltubo; and Martvili and Okatse are close enough to each other to fill a full day on their own.

• Gelati Monastery — about 11 km, 20 minutes. A UNESCO World Heritage monastery complex founded in the 12th century by King David the Builder, with faded frescoes still on the walls and the king’s tomb at the gate.
• Motsameta Monastery — about 8 km, 15 minutes, and easy to pair with Gelati on the same short loop; it sits on a wooded bluff above a river gorge.
• Bagrati Cathedral — inside Kutaisi itself, on Ukimerioni Hill; no drive needed, just a walk or short taxi ride from the centre.
• Prometheus Cave — about 20 km, 25–30 minutes, near Tskaltubo. A large illuminated show cave with stalactite halls and an underground river you can cross by boat on part of the tour; often combined with Sataplia the same afternoon.
• Sataplia Nature Reserve — about 10 km, 15–20 minutes. Fossilised dinosaur footprints and a karst cave with a glass viewing platform.
• Tskaltubo — about 10 km, 15–20 minutes. A former Soviet spa town built around warm mineral springs, known today for its atmospheric abandoned sanatoriums; some can be visited on foot, others only with a local guide.
• Martvili Canyon — about 50 km, 1–1.5 hours. A narrow limestone gorge with a short boat ride along turquoise water, framed by moss-covered cliffs and small waterfalls; arrive early to avoid queues for the boats in peak season.
• Okatse Canyon and Kinchkha Waterfall — about 60 km, roughly 1.5 hours; a metal cliffside walkway extends out over the canyon for views straight down to the river, and the multi-tier Kinchkha waterfall is a short drive further along the same road. Close enough to Martvili to see both in one long day.

Svaneti from Kutaisi, and which car for which route

Kutaisi is the closest airport to Svaneti’s medieval tower villages, and most visitors drive there via Zugdidi — about 240 km, roughly 4.5–5 hours. The road to Zugdidi is a fast, paved highway; the final stretch up into the mountains to Mestia is narrower and winds through the gorge, but it is paved and manageable in an ordinary car in good weather.

Beyond Mestia the road to Ushguli, often described as Europe’s highest permanently inhabited settlement, is a different matter: it is rough, partly unpaved, and closed by snow for much of the winter. Suppliers only allow it in specific cars with written permission — 519 cars here include the Mestia–Ushguli route permit. Do not attempt this road in a car without that permission; it can void your insurance and the supplier may charge a penalty. There is also a shorter southern route to Mestia via Lentekhi and the Rioni gorge, but long stretches are unpaved and it is weather-dependent, so almost all rentals use the Zugdidi road instead.

• City, day trips to the caves and canyons, the highway to Tbilisi or Batumi — any economy or mid-size car is fine. Compact cars start at $29 a day.
• Kutaisi to Mestia in summer — any well-maintained car handles the paved road; from November to April choose winter tyres (980 cars offer them) and consider chains (594 cars).
• Mestia to Ushguli, or mountain villages off the main road — an SUV or 4x4 with the Svaneti permission is required; 927 all-wheel-drive cars are listed here, from $33 a day.
• Families and groups — 7-seat minivans and SUVs from $38 a day; 1,270 cars can be booked with a child seat.

Driving rules in Georgia for visitors

• Traffic drives on the right. Speed limits are signposted: typically 60 km/h in towns and 80–90 km/h outside, higher on stretches of the main east–west highway linking Kutaisi to Tbilisi and to Samtredia on the way to Batumi.
• Georgia has a very low alcohol limit for drivers — do not drink and drive at all.
• Tourists can usually drive with their national licence if it is in Latin script; bring an International Driving Permit if your licence uses another alphabet.
• Speed and lane cameras are common on the highways around Kutaisi; fines are linked to the car and passed on by the supplier, often with a handling fee.
• There are no toll roads in Georgia. Petrol stations are frequent on the main routes and most accept cards, though remote mountain roads towards Svaneti have far fewer — fill up in Zugdidi.
• Roads towards Martvili, Okatse and Svaneti narrow and wind through villages; expect livestock crossing and slower local traffic, and avoid unfamiliar mountain roads after dark.
• Keep your passport, driving licence and the rental agreement in the car — police checks on the highway are routine and usually brief, but you need to show these documents if stopped.

Pick-up options in Kutaisi

Most visitors collect the car directly at Kutaisi International Airport, about 20 km from the centre, right after landing — useful if you want to start the drive to Svaneti or the canyons the same day. You can also pick up at a rental office in town or ask for 1,408 city delivery to your hotel or guesthouse, often free.

If your trip continues elsewhere, one-way rentals are widely available: return the car in Tbilisi (about 230 km, 3.5 hours) or Batumi (about 150 km, 2.5 hours) instead of driving back to Kutaisi. Any one-way drop-off fee is shown in the offer before you book. Whichever pick-up point you choose, check the recorded fuel level and mileage together with the supplier and photograph any existing scratches or dents before you drive off, so there is no dispute when you return the car. If you are flying out of a different city, allow a little extra time at drop-off for the same walk-around check with the receiving branch.

Where these numbers come from

Prices, car counts and conditions on this page come from live offers of local rental companies in the Localrent network and are refreshed daily by Autalo (Alto Media Limited). Prices are for a 7-day rental starting 2026-10-10 unless stated otherwise; your final price depends on dates, season and extras and is always shown in the search before you pay. Last checked 26 September 2026. The rating combines reviews from Autalo customers and ratings left on this page.

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